>> this is al jazeera america, live from new york. i am jonathan betz. [ music ] >> a day of prayer and reflexion for nelson mandela. services are held in south africa and half a world away in the u.s. to honor his legacy. >> linennon comes krarning down >> peace keepers in the central contr control. >> massive problems in the midwest, a big winter storm pushes towards the east coast. [ music ]

>> we begin tonight with a national day of prayer for the man called south africa's greatest son, nelson mandela was the topic in pulpits around the world today. services of all face honored the former president. a steady flow of more thurners candles and stood with others praying for the civil rights leader. there were scenes like this across sfrikdz today. more now from al jazeera nick schifrin. >> nelson mandela talked about a rainbo nation. his struggle wasn't on behalf of black south africans but on behalf of all segregated and humiliated by racist rulers. >> nelson mandela wanted to build a nation united in diversity. citizens of all races and religion say mandela created that had unity. at an interfaith service, south

africans celebrated the respect that mandela provided them. >> celebrate. it's an important model for human society. >> it lions us to be. >> down the road at an indian rally, man dela was thanked on behalf of children. 20 years ago, perussia was a second-class citizen. apartheid didn't only segregate blacks. >> we were part of the deprived lot. >> her husband suffered the same. he remembers being humiliated just for eating dinner. >> we used to go down in the evening to find something to eat. we had to say to the guy. sorry, do you sell to us? he would say, no we don't but you guys can go around the corner and you are more than welcome to buy take-aways. >> their kids have no idea what their parents went through, which is just fine for them.

>> tell me about these. >> perussia shows off achievements she wasn't allowed to dream. her kids graduated from integrated colleges. one is a doctor, the other training to be a teacher. >> it's an awesome feel to go have brought up children in the multi-racial education society and they proved they can make it. >> did you have that opportunity? >> no. >> they are raising a black child and their community is more diverse. >> failure their eyes are open. >> today was a day of prayer and reconciliation. ana katrada knew him for two decades in prison. >> with freedom comes responsibility. freedom did not fall from heaven. >> today, they did say goodbye and thanked the man who gave their children the diverse

future they never had. >> as perussia put it to me today, she was thanking mandela for creating such a special country for her children to grow up in. nick schifrin, ephelides, joe hansesburg. >> many have gathered at first african methodist episcopal church in los angeles to pay their respect. nelson mandela visited the city in 1990 after his release from prison. brian rooney is live outside that church. explain to us why that church is such a special connection to nelson mandela >> reporter: well, it's one of the most prominent churches in all of los angeles, and it is a community focus. it's always been involved. and back in the days when nelson mandela was in prison and america was going through its civil rights era, there was a special connection. people here were inspired by nelson mandela andrew strength from him. and then to have him come and visit only a few months after he

got out of prison was quite a big event here they have been remembering him in church services all day. and i would like to take a listen for a minute here they just do wonderful services here ♪ ♪ amen. ♪ amen. ♪ amen. ♪ >> reporter: we have with us now one of the leaders of those services, senior pastor j. edgar boyd. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> i wondered: how do you, in a relatively brief service, how down memorialize this man? >> it's almost impossible to memorialize him because it is a life-long experience for most of us. but just however long it is we live, for us who lived during the 20th century and also who are live in the 21st century, to see the figure of one person who

brought such a rad cat place for justice and for freedom and liberation in south africa was transferred his own impressions across the world, it's going to be a life-long experience for us. many of us who lived and survived during the civil rights era here in america and to realize what dr. martin luther king went through when he was jailed in birmingham, alabama, and after he was released from jail, went on to become an abdomanybodiable force bringing about justice for america. >> how do you pacific that on to young people? because he has been out of public life for quite awhile before he died. >> that, he was. and one remarkable thing about him, when you look at him and look at king, falling to an asass in's bullet and god allowed nelson mandela to live until he was 95. it's a phenomenal expression to all of us and realize young people can look back at what he did from his jail cell and

delib -- to liberate his country from apartheid is something our children will have to understand and look to understand and know that this he can can do the same thing in various parts of life. >> if you were telling a stranger about nelson man dela and there was one thing you wanted them to know, what would it be? >> when the world puts you to your lowest point, never give up. never give in. never give out. keep on going and know that inside of you is the seed for liberation and, also, for the bringing about of the proving of the thing you hope for. if you don't give up and give in, you will never really tire. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> j. edgar boyd. we heard the first africans episcopal church in los angeles. >> thank you for that report. nelson mandela championed the fight to end apartheid in south africa. china's president called him a friend. but a chinese nobel prize winner with similar goals is in jail. we will discuss that controversy later this hour. in ukraine's capitol,

protests are growing in size and intensity. hundreds of thousands of people are calling for the resignation of the country's president. he rejected a trade deal with europe to appease russia. al jazeera's tim friend has more >> reporter: the protest went on into the night. ukrainian nationalists sell belated the top elling of kiev's statue of lenin shouting ya yanokovich, you are next. they have no intention of giving up now. >> here outside of the cabinet office, the protesters have been placing flowers on the barrier between themselves and the police. but this relatively peaceful stand-off has turned ugly before and earlier, they were building up the barricades. >> the fear is that the police will move in before an official deadline on tuesday to end the street protests and occupation of government buildings. people gathered in the thousands

in independence square to call for the resignation of the yanokovich. >> you are taking a stand for your future, not for me or any other rep 'sentatives of the opposition. the future depends on each of you. we must group together and do everything to win. >> all day, riot police stood by, facing the pro-european demonstrators who are furious about yanokovich's failure to sign a trade deal with the eu and, instead, turn towards moscow to save ukraine's ailing economy. >> i want a new government that listens to the people and doesn't treat us like animals. >> we are here to the fight for our rights so that our kids are brought up in a good country without corruption and where everything is fair. >> the crisis here is reaching a crucial moment. president yanokovich believes he can survive with moscow's help

but the protesters say they are ready for a long fight to achieve their aims. tim friend, al jazeera, kiev. the president of the central african republic admits he does not have control over his country. his favorite allies have been engaged in heavy fighting, and has killed nearly 400 people. the united states approved france sending soldiers which seems to have been calming the violence. our nizine ms. you'mizzuri has on cha challenges they face >> reporter: people find refuge in a church. it is better to sleep here than at home. it is some day for the church bells are sigh lengths. t they only ring to warn a danger. police had no such warning when celica killed most of his family. his wife had asked him to leave. she thought celica wouldn't target women and children.

>> i left, but i hesitated and i came back. when i got to the house, i found the two children and my wife dead. they put the two month old baby on the bed and covered him with lots of clothes >> reporter: this is exactly what the french soldiers here want to prevent. >> this is one of the first times we have seen frank soldiers out on foot in such large numbers. these are french paratroopers to reassure people and protect them, and soon, they will be disarming the various armed groups in this city. >> that isn't happening yet. the rules of engagement mean the french can only shoot when they come under attack. >> there are lots of people calling us drblth on the phone, tell us that celica forces are attacking. when we arrive, there is no one there so we have to play a game of cat and mouse. >> muslims are being killed, too. these men are mourning the death

of a community leader. they want the french to stay but not to interfere in their political process. >> they have to stay amend france has to help us hold elections so wreck choose a president deserving of the name and leave the country t they have to stay for thetrition. >> there are some people who have comparing this to rawanda in 1994. the genocide there killed hundreds of thousands of people. there are differences that was ethnic violence. here, it is sectarian. religious leaders are preaching peace, not hate. >> there is a growing atmosphere of ven he knew. you can't call it genocide yet. that would be imprudent but what is certain is that from now on central african republic, society will never be the same

again >> reporter: there are many examples in history of where international forces have intervened too late. for the world, it's finally, taking notice that what is happening here al jazeera, bange. >> a deepening crisis in tie land as members of the main opposition party resign from parliament today. the party said it stepped down in protest calling the current government illegitimate, refusing to work with the prime minister. it increases the political crisis in that country. five have been killed since massive protests began last month. demonstrators are demanding the prime minister step down. >> at least 27 workers from south asia have been arrested after riots in singapore. trouble began when an indian man was killed by a bus. hundreds of people attacked the bus driver, the conductor, and police officers who later arrived. the workers could face up to seven years in prison and caining.

>> freezing temperatures and slick roads, all part of pre-winter storm blanketing much of the nation's midsection, from texas to oklahoma, turned over trucks, traffic backed up for miles, black ice forcing drivers to creep along roadways, freezing weather knocking out power for tens of thousands of people. at dallas/fort worth, hundreds of flights were cancelled. record lows in las vegas and in the bay area, several people died from hypothermia. a million dollars worth of citrus also damaged by the freezing temperatures, and it's all headed east. we are joined by rebecca in our weather is noter. i guess. it is so-called out there and just causing so many problems and now headed our way. >> here it comes into the northeast. but the thing is, is that there is warmer air coming in behind this. the problem is, is that warmer air is riding over the cold air,

and that's when we are getting the ice accumulating up in virginia, west virginia, parts of dulles airport reportingfrees can rain. it has been snow up around the great lakes and snow reports anyway from two to four inches coming down around michigan and, also, around the great lakes, in fact, iowa over nebraska had a few inches overnight into early this morning. but right now, the primary focus where you see those areas of hot pink trucking over maryland, just when you think you might be getting some relief, we still have another round of some moisture coming up to where the temperatures are still cold enough to produce freezing rain and getting some ice. over delaware, freezing rain at last report while somerville, new jersey getting snow. we expect spots that are still getting snow to gradually change over to freezing rain and drizzle later tonight. things will continue to warm up but i would recommend stay off roadways if you can if you are getting freezing drizzle and snow. wait until tomorrow evening or afternoon until your commute.

we have some wide-spread freezing fog in the northeast. >> that's easily laying down the black ice. that will make things pretty slippery. temperatures, as you can see, ranging from right at freezing from washington, d.c. to new york right at 30. so starting to snow for new york and boston and then changing over. more details on that change over and how chilly we will be coming up. jonathan? >> all right. see you later, rebecca. thanks. still ahead on al jazeera america, dispute grows over air space in the east china sea. now, another country is making its own claims. plus how the u.s. handles military allegations of sexual assaults has come under fire. two new bills may soon change that. only on al jazeera america. >> oh my!

i'm phil torrez.

coming up this week on techknow. >> shots fired. a neighborhood under attack. >> last warning, okay? i don't want to put you in handcuffs. >> now the innovative technology that can spot a stolen car parked in the middle of a city block. >> there were multiple gunshots fired. >> it can track a gunman thousands of miles away. >> if you can track it then you can predict it. >> moving to east asia, china and japan are fighting over islands in the east china sea and now south korea is in the mention. seoul has claimed air space of water beijing says it owns.

here is the story >> reporter: south korea's announcement may be about invisible lines in the air but they extend over disputed areas of land and sea. this is what south korea calls yodo, a submerged rocky reef, home to a science station and under it's de facto control. these strategic waters and rocks are claimed by beijing and seuol. >> south korea has asserted rights in the air above. >> translator: the new korean air space defense identification zone has been modified to be in line with the country's flight information region, which does not overlap with neighboring countries. this zone includes the air space over iado's waters. >> seuol's move comes two wheys after china's surprise extension of its air identification zone encroaching on those of south korea and japan. it overlaps that of japan.

the government in seuol says it won't impose the new rule until december 15th, allowing for consultation with neighbors. we believe this will not significantly impact our relationships with china and with japan as we try to work for peace and cooperation in northeast asia. >> south korea's president discussed the plans with u.s. vice president joe biden during his visit last week. the u.s. state department has declared itself on the same page as seoul. china release truck driver pictures of military exercises and says it would have nothing to do with mary tierit time jurisdiction. >> south korea has wanted to extend it's air defense zone. it leaves one part of the east china sea with three overlapping zones belong to go china, japan and south korea. the coming days could allow for talks on how to manage such a

complex state of affairs. qualityly, they could set the stage for what nobody wants, an accidental conflict in increasingly contested skies. >> earlier, we spoke with brigadier general mark kimmet. here is what he had to say about south korea's claim. >> i think it was a pretty smart move on the part of south korea to make it clear and ex plicit where they believe their territorial rights extend into. that the way, they don't wake up one morning and have china declare an area that they suggest belongs to them, tonal have korea requiring to respond at that point. this way, it clarifies the situation up front and, in fact, although your head line says it increases tensions, this may very well decrease the tensions because everybody's positions are very well clarified as of today. >> this week, the senate is supposed to face two bills. the focus is how sexual assault cases are handled. joining us to talk about this is

somebody writtena rudin utterli. she has written extensively about sexual assaults in the military. thanks for being with us today. >> thank you. >> so first, help us understand just how big of an issue is sexual assault in the military and how the military handles it? >> well, the military sexual assault is absolutely epidemic, and that is because, by and large, sexual prettiors are not penalized but victims are. victims find themselves ostracized by their units, demoted by their command and drummed out of the military. meanwhile, the conviction rate for sexual prettiors is actually very low. it's about six % of rape reports in convictions. >> you wrote wrote about, sab re sabrina, about women who were sexual assaulted and were too afraid, even those who were supposed to investigate these? right? >> that's right.

85% of sexual assault victims do not report crimes they are so fearful of retaliation from their command or from whatever reprisals could happen. >> so talk talk about the two bills being discussed out there. do you think they are going to make much of a difference? >> i think both bills are poised to make a tremendous difference. there is a big difference between the two bills. the difference is in the role that they think the commander should take in determining the fate of sexual assault cases. right now, a commander is the person who ultimately decides which sexual assault cases get prosecuted and which don't. the civilian equivalent of that would really be like if there was a sexual assault in the workplace and the d.a. wanted to press charges, wanted to prosecute, and the da would have to go to the workplace and speak to the accused boss and ask for permission to proceed. if the boss said, no, they would have to withdraw charges.

so that's basically how much power the commander has over sexual assault cases right now. the jillibrand amendment would remove commanders from the sexual assault decision-making process all together and make it more like the civilian system. the mccaskill proposal is far more moderate. it would keep commanders in that decision-making role but it would provide kind of a safe guard which would be that if they decided not to prosecute a sexual assault case, it could get sort of sent over to a civilian panel for review. >> do we have any idea, sabrina, how likely it is one of these two ideas will actually get passed and implemented in the military? >> i think it's very likely one or the other is going to be passed. it will be very interesting to see which one winds up getting passed. the jillibrand amendment has the backing of most veterans organizations and a lot of prominent democrats. it has, in fact, bi-partisan support. and on the other proposal, the

mccaskill proposal, they have the support of the military leadership, the armed services committee, and so i do believe that one or the other will be passed. it will be interesting to see how far the military is really willing to go to implement change. >> since this whole issue blew up and got so much attention and a lot of people have been talking about sexual assaults, you have been writing around it, do you get the impression that the mood is changing and that there is progress being made and that women do feel more comfortable reporting these crimes with or without these new laws being passed? >> there is definitely a since that the military is acknowledging there is a problem to unprecedented degree. that has been shown in the number of rape reports going up. so perhaps there is more of a feeling among people in uniform that they feel more safe coming forward. that said, the military has acknowledged that it has had a problem with sexual assault over the course of the

last 20 years. every time there has been a major public scandal, they have acknowledged they had a problem. acknowledging the problem is clearly not enough. it's the first step toward the solution. so we shall see, you know, what will happen next. >> there is talk of maybe coming up with a solution there with rolling stone magazine, thank you for your time today. >> thank you very much. >> . >> michael eaves is here with the sports headlines. n.f.l., big day for those teams playing today. >> big day and a big setback. adrian peterson was carted off of the field with an apparent ankle injury, which occurred early in the second quarter after peterson was tackled by arthur brown. peterson who won last year's most valuable player was questionable to even play in this game due to a groin injury. he started as the rushing leader with 1200 and 8 yards.

in pittsburgh, a valiant comeback effort by the steelers against the dolphins comes up short as the final play of the game, which started at the steelers' own 21 yard line featured 5 -- that's right -- 5 different laterals before ending unin the hands and antonio brown who raced down the sideline into the end zone but official ruled he stepped out of rounds at the 11 yard line nullifying the touchdown and securing the win for the dolphins. finally, a disturning scene in brazil when a riot broke out among fans of a local soccer game. riot police had to break up the fight which the started 10 minutes into the game. 3 fans were taken to the hospital in serious condition and one of them eventually died from his injuries. jonathan, i had to's riot, another unfortunate event for brazil as it gets set to host the world cup. >> thanks, michael. poles have closed in venzuela's

first election since the death of chavez. what the results will mean for the current president nicholas maduro. >> a closest look at the best country in the world to spend your golden years. find out what makes it so special for seniors ahead. >> people who had no hope now tell their extraordinary stories. >> i thought i was gonna die... on america tonight on al jazeera america

power of the people until we restore our

welcome back to al jazeera america. i am jonathan betz with a look at today's top stories. in kiev hundreds of thousands of people are calling for their president to resign. he rejected a trade deal with europe in favor of closer ties with russia. >> the president of the signature tran africans currents tree admits he doesn't have control of his country. french and africans soldiers have been sent to intervene. it is a national day of prayer in south africa for nelson mandela. services of all faith honor the former president. they lit candles at his home in suburban johannesburg. >> china's response to the death

of nelson mandela sparks debate. they called him a friend. he praised the achronic leader for ending apar tight. china has a record of jailing it's descendants, leo shalvo for trying to overthrow the government alleged will be. >> he is a senior rights watch, thanks for being in today. >> thank you for having me. >> china comes out and says, you know, nelson mandela is a friend. we honor his work and his legacy. is it hypocritical? >> it's awkward for the chinese government because in this praise that they give him, they neglect to mention the idea such as freedom and democracy and most interestingly, they make no mention that the he was a noble peace prize lawylaureate.: bec

avowed, non-violent advocate for peaceful social change in china. >> let's talk about the similarities between nelson mandela and leo shalvo. >> the biggest similarity is these are two men who made enormous sacrifices to challenge an abusive status yeah. nelson mandela spent 27 years in prison. shalvo is on a 11 year sentence on a spurous charge. their families have suffered significantly. it's worth noting that shalvo's wife is under unlawful detension in beijing, isolated from her family from society, undergoing extreme mental and emotional strength. >> talk about the pressures for political prisoners. they challenge a one-state party with a ruthless approach to containing quote, unquote

dissent. at the time t south africa and apartheid was similar to china. it has a state security apparatus that is dedicated to maintaining this monopoly on power. so, you know, their challenges are very similar. >> when china comes out and supports nelson mandela, do you think the chinese government recognizes that a lot of people think of it as hypocritical? >> absolutely, and their spin, the chinese government spins it by claiming mandela on their terms, for the chinese government, nelson mandela is a stud ent of the revolution, someone who stooded the art of war and in the mold of a chinese revolutionary. they don't talk about this peaceful struggle against a one-party state that was abusive to the interests of the majority. >> when they look back at nelson mandela's legacy, do you think they are studying, frankly, his work arnold his country for

suggestions on what they should be moving forward? >> absolutely. you know, the central party school in beijing, a large part of the curriculum of that school, which grooms future leaders of the chinese communist party is looking at the failed one-party states of the past. so they look at the soviet union. they look at the failed states of the revolutions of central and eastern europe. you can bet they looked at south africa to look for messages and warnings in terms of what they should do to maintain what is their overriding monopoly on power. >> what do you think they have learned? >> from south africa, in the sense, is a failed lesson in the sense that they are seeking to contain this momentum and this momentum within side embodied with individuals, you know, the fact of the aspirations of people who want rule of law, who want human rights, who want to have a better life in which they are participants rather than mere pawns in a one-party state.

>> fascinating freelin kind, thank you for coming in today. we appreciate your time? >> my pleasure. thank you very much. >> today's elections in venzuela are seen as a test for people in that current tree. closing various mayors and the popularity of the socialist party. he has been dogged by a popularity crisis. mariana chsanchez joins us. do we have any idea what the early results are from this election today? >> reporter: it's very difficult to predict what the results will be. the polls have just closed a while ago, although they were closed a while ago, but people continue to vote for a while after that. and there are more than 300 candidates, only for may orrial

posts, more than 2000 for the municipal seats. it will take a long time for the national electoral counsel to have final results in the few hours, i would say. now, polls, however, said before this election that 25% of venzuelaans were undecided. among these 25% also people that always favored the chavizmo. we will have to see the swing vote of 25% will be voting for, and that's where the opposition wants to gain ground with that 25% because, in general, these elections, the poles said candidates from the opposition and candidates from the government were neck to neck. also, you have to think about abstensionism today. we were at a polling station where an official told us 45% of abstensionism was being

registered at one police station in a very populous neighborhood. the other reason that is -- that should be certain into account is that 62% of venzuelaans blame the president for the shortcomings. it is very difficult to see whether most venzuelaans who have basically voted, 50 and 50 f will vote the same way in this elections. >> talk about that issues that country faces. povertity. why is there not less support, then, for president maduro's party? >> well, the situation in venzuela is very bad. it has been very bad for a long time. president maduro is new to the government. he has been eight months in the government and his tenure has been marked for an astronomical, if you will, inflation of 56%,

which is one of the highest in the world. what about crime? crime is rampant here the capitol is considered the third most violent city in all of latin america. and the short -- the food shortage is another big problem that everyone in venzuela is living from both sides, so people are very -- they are very angry at the government that will they have to be able to bring food to their tables? they have to go out, touring around the city to find their -- tofied food and to find everything to be able to feed their families. so the president is facing, a bit challenged because these elections will either give him the credibility from the venzuelaan people and also from the venzuelaans who are within

the party that is divided into many different faxes. >> we are anxious to see what those results are. mariana, thank you for your time tonight. iran, the u.s. and five other world powers will meet in vienna this week to discuss the six-month nuclear agreement. president obama said he is committed to diplomacy as the best path for halting iran's nuclear program. >> we have to not constantly assume that it's not possible for iran, like any country, to change over time. it may not be likely. if you does me, what is the likely that we are able to arrive at the end state that i was just describing earlier, i wouldn't say that it's more than 50/50. but we have to try. >> iranian president rouhas

rouhasn houani said it helped his country. >> iran's foreign minister was asked if tehran was responsible for some of the unrest in the middle east. iran has been accuse did of stoking the matter, including iraq. here is his answer. >> we have a foreign policy which has a strat eachic period in this region. and we believe that we need. to in fact, contain the spread of sectarian divided in region. we believe sectarianism is dangerous for the entire region. iran is certainly not interested in promoting that. in fact, we have talked to everybody from the very first days of assuming. i visited iraq and the core of my discussion with all iraqis, post shiia, kurd and arab was

the need to contain the sectarian divide. we believe that is a fire that can engulf the entire region and beyond and we believe it is in the interest of every single state in the region as well as all of the peoples of the region to build on our commonalities and we have a great deal of commonality. fighting in syria, the border with lebanon is escalating. seven children have been he can executed there. the badge for the town is still underway. andrew simmons has been talking to some of the eyewitnesses to the fight. this is the only way out for syrian refugees escaping the battle of calamon. the slow down on the trail of those crossing the border into lebanon is because of the increase in fighting. these women are the latest. in short, they tell of getting out of a town that's partly under siege.

assad forces along with hezbollah and other shiia fighters are gaining ground. we could hear the gun battles getting close toker us. we got out. a manual drove us to the border. we will wait here until my son and husband make it, i hope. her daughter is sick with a fever? >> i don't have any medicine. we have nothing. we left exactly as you see us now. we didn't think we could make it here. at a time road may be on this. the people escaping the fighting, ahead, there is little to look forward to. aside from the wind and the rain, there is the cold, the main enemy now, and like so many aspects to this wall, it shows no mercy.

an overcrowded and shivering form of destution. the lebanese population is 40,000. add to that, 60,000 syrian refugees and the situation is dire. there is some lead under the canvas but the first official transit camp in lebanon, 70 families are housed here next door, the municipality has more permanent shelter. they are called homes for families of the syrian revolution's martyrs. with pressure from the cold, new rifl arrivals are settling here people have been told by the local authorities that they have to leave to make way for the families of dead fighters. >> i knew this but where are we supposed to go? anyone that's just retired, i bring them here. >> covered by blankets is an old man, abu ali found outside. he is sick and needs medical

attention. it has left some with no shelterser for the night. this man says we have nothing. we have to burn plastic bags to make a fire. the fighting in calamoon causes more civilian deaths, many of them children, these people prepare for the syrian war's third winter with nothing more than a will to survive. andrew simmons, al jazeera, a al sal, lebanon. >> pope francis made a public appearance in rommes shopping district and stood at the foot of the spanish steps, prayed for the poor and greeted the public. today marks the christmas shopping season in rome. thousands took a break from the stores to see the pope. they spent years behind bars for a crime they say they never committed. now free, the women known as the san antonio four say they were prosecuted because of their sexual orientation. >> i am john henry smith at lincoln financial field in if i

feel philadelphia. mother /* more coming up in sports >> ...exclusive one-on-one interviews with the most interesting people of our time. >> you're listening because you want to see what's going to happen. >> i want to know what works what do you know works? >> conversations you won't find anywhere else. >> talk to al jazeera. >> only on al jazeera america. >> oh my!

every sunday night al jazeera america presents gripping films from the world's top documentary directors. an act of terror then a rush to justice for pan am flight 103. >> the eyes of the world will be on us. >> an investigation under scrutiny. >> it looks nothing like him. somebody's telling lies. >> this was a miscarriage of justice.

>> did they get the wrong man? >> there's something else going on. >> a shocking documentary event begins with: the pan am bomber on al jazeera america presents. . three women in san antonio are enjoying their third week of freedom after a judge ordered their release from prison. they, along with a fourth woman paroled a year ago were convicted of a crime they say never happened. >> butter is good. we dent have butter in prison like we do here everything was imitation. >> dinner together at the kitchen table, a luxury after 16 years separated behind bars. >> we come as a package. one goes, we all go together. nobody is going to stay behind.

>> that's how it was in 1994, when a 20-year-old elizabeth mariez. and cas and a rivera and anna vazquez, both 19, were accused of a horrific crime. ramirez's two nations, 9 and 7 claimed the women had raped them in a tequila-fueled origingy worshiping the devil. they say it was masterminded by ramirez's rejection. >> we knew a crime was never committed. we stood by that. and to clear our name and not be, you know, told that we were the people, you know, what they think we are or these monsters, that they, you know, portrayed us to be, that's not who we are. >> the women were separated after their arrests and could have stayed out of prison by accepting plea deals to testify against each other. they refused. they say the state targeted them for being lesbian s and

capitalized on that with the jury. >> we had a preachir and a preacher's wife. yes stand a chance. >> despite inconsistencies in the victim's stories, the jury found the women guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child. by 1998, the san antonio 4 were locked away. >> we have always been responsible women. we were mothers. we had jobs. we were in school. things were, you know, happening for us. our lives were just taken away. >> in 2012, as the women spent their 15th year in prison, one of the victims recanted, telling the san antonio express news, i can't live my life knowing that four women are sleeping in a cage because of me. >> earlier this year, a doctor withdrew her testimony saying she had been wrong when diagnosing scars on a victim's hymen as signs of abuse. now, science says a normal hymen may appear scarred.

>> this year, a new texas law went into effect that allows state courts to overturn convictions that were based on science that's later debunked. so, on november 18th, the san antonio four reunited as free women, meet can cas an did a rivera's granddaughter for the first time ready to make up for lost time. >> there was, you know, death in our family and there was birth. marriages and, you know, just so many things over the years that we have -- that we have missed. >> the road ahead won't be easy. the women have been released but not exonerated. there is that legal battle to fight, jobs to find and lives to rebuild. >> the four say as long as they stick together, they will do all that and more. patty jo castro, san antonio. scientists in sweeden think they have an answer for carrying for citizenship.

meet the giraffe it has a charm allows children to follow them. it will is saving the government money by cutting down on the number of caregivers needed. it allows the elderly to be more independent. >> the giraffe is interesting. the photos, that snowstorm there, unreal. >> the game was kind of unreal, too. an unreal performance with only four weeks remaining in the n.f.l. teams jockeying. eagles met in philadelphia the cowboys atop the nfc east. they had more than their opponent to worry about. mother nature decided to show up in a snowstorm but neither snow, wind could slow down mccoy,

including touchdown runs of 57 and 40 yards and the eagles would go on to post the 34-20 victory. joining us from philadelphia is john henry smith. john, just how bad were the playing conditions there at lincoln financial field? >> good packin' snow. i hit my producer with this one. very good. very good. i tell you what, the rest was 2-point conversions. they fumbled seven times. eagles were better. they fumbled only one time. from a historical standpoint,

how good was his performance? >> well, from a historical standpoint, the guy whose record he eclipsed was a guy who didn't even wear a face mascot, one of the leather helmet guys, steve van barrel 205 yards for years and years, mccoy breaks that today. the incredible thing about what mccoy did today, he only had 51 yards at halftime. he had 69 yards after three-quarters of play. he gained 148 in the last quarter to break the all-time rushing record for the eagles, an incredible day in tough conditions. >> as we mentioned coming in, both teams jockeying for -- >> playing this game, obviously to play here in philadelphia. so, it means a lot. broken. and it's been standing for so long, you know, and he is a guy. >> that is the voice of la russian mccoy talking about his record-breaking performance today against 217 yards, a new

philadelphia eagles record, john henry smith, we talked about both teams coming into this game, jockeying for play-off position. now, with only three weeks remaining in the season. how does the outcome of today's game affect both teams? >> certainly, it puts the philadelphia eagles in good position going into the final three games of the season. they could have as much as a two-game advantage coming up after this game depending upon the outcomes, especially with the dallas game coming up tomorrow night. down the stretch, the eagles, they have the minnesota vikings in minnesota next week, then chicago here 2 of the teams going this football. >> the eagles now 5 straight games looking to go from worst to first. thank you for your report from philadelphia. >> in new england today, the patriots put off a dramatic comeback against the cleveland browns thanks to luck and a

questionable call. 26 to 21, new england comes up with the on sides kick, giving them the ball at the brown's 40 yard line. and then, a controversial pass interference call gave the patriots a first down and goal and with just 31 seconds remaining, tom brady hits gandola for the game-winning score. two touchdowns in the last 61 seconds. the patriots win 27 to 26. these football football games have been nothing short of exciting. >> i can't get over the snow. i can't imagine trying to play in that snow. >> thanks, michael still ahead on sufrex, freezing temperatures. rebecca will be back with the latest on the weather.

>> we have been getting ice accumulations across parts of the northeast today, and now we are starting to see freezing rain and ice track eastward. it doesn't mean the event's over. we still have all of the snow tracking up to the northeast and, in fact, as we look at the satellite radar combined?

>> we will see the area of snow, ice, or just freezing rain still over parts of maryland and in general, snshingsz /* /- new jersey. we are not expecting a lot of accumulation for the northeast. where we are getting some accumulation is in the form of ice. this is so dangerous because this amount of ice, four-ten accounts, trees will come down so easily, power lines and last thing you want is to have a very cold air mass right over you when you lose power. this is what's happening. so, a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation is plenty to get tree limbs down and some power issues. we have that in kentucky and vest virginia today, unto north carolina. you have got a little over a 10th of an inch for the ice. temperatures now, i want to point out the warning that's been coming from the southwest. 44 or knoxville, 45 for atlanta. it's this warmer air that's moving up over that very cold

air in the 20s for instance, for pittsburgh and if it does that, it's allowing this ice crystal to fall from the sky. it melts initially in that warm air but then when it gets down to the temperatures and 20s, it freezes on contact. that will create glazing and the dripping ice silks, things that can be pretty but not so fun when you are driving. so we still have an ice storm warning in effect for parts of the northeast. specifically anywhere tarn north carolina and also into parts of the side of tennessee. see around the great lakes continuing with the snowfall here and the precip wrapping up, we expect another round of snow for the great lakes as we get into the next couple of days, winter storm warning will continue for now for parts of the new jersey area stretching up just south of manhattan and it is the great lakes that has a lake-effect snow watch coming into effect, for the next couple of days. so, monday, gradually drying.

ur watching al jazeera america live. the president of the central african republic says he does not have control over his country. fighting has killed nearly 4000 people. >> in ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people are in the streets calling fire their president to resign. he rejected a trade deal with europe in favor of closer ties with russia. a deepening crisis in thailand as members of the main opposition party resigned from parliament today. the party said it stepped down in protest calling the current government illegitimate. they are demanding the p